Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1887-03-25
The In,er-,n,e Communion.


The President announced on Tuesday the
appointment of the following gentlemen to
compose the Interstate commerce commits
sion
Thomas ~ Cooley of Michigan for the term of
six years.
William X. Morrison Of Illinois for the term of
five years.
Augustus schoonnaker of New York for the
term of four years
Aldace F. Walker Of Vermont for the term of
three years.
Walter A. Bragg Of Alabama for the term of
two years.
Judge Cooley, who will probably be made
the president of the board, is a jurist of
distinction and has seen many years of ser
vice on the bench in Michigan. He was at
one time chief justice of the state. Mr..
Morrison is the exCongressman from Hi
nois whose term has just expired. He is a
man of honesty and fair ability, and is best
known from his connection with the tariff
reform measure which bore his name Mr.
Schoonmaker of New York has served as
attorney general of that state and is a mem
Der of the state civil-service commission.
| Mr.. Bragg of Alabama is a member Of the
railroad commission of that state and is
vouched for as a man of strength and sound
| views
The announcement of the appointment of
| Col. A. f. Walker of Rutland was sur
prise here in Vermont, though it has since
been known that he had been strongly en-
dorsed to the President by many prominent
friends, including Senator Edmunds, Judge
Wheeler, T. S. Attorney Haskins, Hon. j.
NJ. Tyler and others. Col Walker was born
in West Rutland in 1912 and was the son of
the late Rev. DR.. Aldace Walker. He was
graduated at Middlebury college. He has
an honorable war record, having been with
the It'll Vermont regiment all through its
arduous service and winning the rank of
lieutenant colonel before the close of the
war. He was admitted to the bar in New
York in 1867 and settledin Rutland in 1873.
For several years he was partner of Judge
John Prout, the leading chancery lawyer
of Vermont, and the firm enjoyed a very
large railroad practice. Col. Walker achiev-
ed his greatest fame as a lawyer by the
fight which he made as counsel for the Yer
mont and Canada railroad against the Smith
ring. He defeated their attempt to swal
low the Vermont and Canada without pay
ing its owners a cent for their property
and forced them to a compromise the term
of which were exceedingly advantageous
to his clients. Col. Walker has always beei
an advocate of railroad supervision an'
was the author of the Ripley bill which
formed the basis on which the railroad com
, mission law enacted last fall was framed
u A man better equipped for a place on tn
+ interstate commission could not have beel
chosen by the President.
Locally Col. Walker is known as the mas
d. ter in chancery before whom the final az
y. counting was held in the case of the Firs
= National bank stockholders against S. NJ
: Waite's estate. He is cousin of Rev. DR.
= Geo. Leon Walker, now of Hartford, Conn
and of Hon. Stephen A. Walker, U. S. Al
~ torney for the Southern district of Me-
?. York.
a OF the five members of the commissio
i Judge Cooley and Col, Walker are Republ
m cans. The others are Democrats. 1t
r, universally conceded that the President hi
"a made sincere effort to secure COMM
30 sion of able, experienced and impartial mel